Chinese Silk Exports in the Kangxi Era

Timeline

1. 1661–1665Jiangning–Suzhou weaving district · JiangnanAfter the wars of the early Qing subsided, official and private weaving workshops in Jiangning, Suzhou, and Hangzhou resumed production, again supplying domestic tribute satins and the various silks and raw silk needed by overseas markets.
2. 1662–1668Amoy · FujianThe Dutch East India Company procured Fujian and Jiangnan raw silk via Amoy and Taiwan, transported it to Batavia for weaving and dyeing, and sold it to Japan and Europe, making Chinese silk a core commodity of East Asian maritime trade.
3. 1665–1670Canton · GuangdongThe precursor merchant quarter of the Canton Thirteen Factories gradually took shape, with European merchants purchasing Nanjing silks, Canton satins, and silk goods; silk exports, together with tea and porcelain, formed the three leading categories of early Qing foreign trade.
4. 1668–1670Lyon · FranceChinese silks were transshipped via Amsterdam and London to Lyon and elsewhere in France, meeting European court and aristocratic demand for Oriental silk and spurring Europe's silk industry to imitate Chinese-style patterns.